CHAPTER 210
HB 1206 – FINAL VERSION
06Feb2008… 0111h
21May2008… 1926eba
2008 SESSION
06/10
HOUSE BILL 1206
AN ACT relative to park and ride facilities.
SPONSORS: Rep. Campbell, Hills 24; Rep. R. Williams, Merr 11; Rep. Rausch, Rock 5; Rep. Jennifer Brown, Straf 5; Sen. Kenney, Dist 3
COMMITTEE: Public Works and Highways
This bill:
I. Authorizes the commissioner of transportation to erect signs regulating parking at park and ride facilities.
II. Permits the commissioner of transportation to take certain actions against persons who park in violation of signs.
This bill is a request of the department of transportation.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
06Feb2008… 0111h
21May2008… 1926eba
08-2250
06/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to park and ride facilities.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
210:1 New Subdivision; Park and Ride Facilities. Amend RSA 228 by inserting after section 100 the following new subdivision:
228:101 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. “Intermodal transportation” means the movement of passengers from one mode of transport to another.
II. “Park and ride facility” means parking lots and related facilities, including terminals, intended for use by commuters, persons engaged in intermodal transportation, and persons sharing a motor vehicle by carpooling or vanpooling.
228:102 Power to Operate Facilities. The commissioner shall have the power to establish, operate, maintain, and improve park and ride facilities that are part of the state highway system and to ascertain what further facilities, improvements, or parking fees may be necessary for the efficient operation of the park and ride facilities and the economic well-being of the state. When appropriate the commissioner shall consult with transportation operators on site.
228:103 Restricted Use of Park and Ride Facilities.
I. Park and ride facilities are intended for the short-term use of motorists using carpools, vanpools, public transportation, or intermodal transportation.
II. The commissioner may control and manage park and ride facilities to ensure that the intended uses have priority over any other use. The commissioner may delegate authority under this paragraph to an entity with which the commissioner contracts to operate such a facility.
228:104 Removal and Disposition of Abandoned or Illegally Located Vehicles and Other Devices.
I. No person shall park or otherwise leave any vehicle, trailer, equipment, or other device at a park and ride facility in violation of any official sign regulating parking at the facility.
II. The commissioner may remove, tow, impound, and dispose of, or arrange for or order the removal, towing, impoundment, or disposal of vehicles, trailers, equipment, or other devices abandoned at a park and ride facility or parked or located in violation of paragraph I, or for any reason set forth in RSA 262:32. Each vehicle, trailer, equipment, and other device removed, towed, or impounded by or on behalf of the commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall be stored at a secure location until it is claimed by the person lawfully entitled to possession of the vehicle.
III. The commissioner may contract with an entity or entities to enforce the provisions of paragraph II, and may allow the entity to assess reasonable towing, storage, and other related fees.
IV. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 259:4-a, or any other provision of law, the commissioner may enforce RSA 262:31 through RSA 262:40-c relative to the removal and impoundment of abandoned vehicles.
(a) The commissioner of transportation or the commissioner’s designee shall have any power, duty, or responsibility assigned to the commissioner of safety or a head of a law enforcement agency under RSA 262:31 through RSA 262:40-c.
(b) A designated employee of the department of transportation, or of an entity under contract with the department of transportation, shall have any power, duty, or responsibility assigned to an “authorized official” under RSA 262:31 through RSA 262:40-c.
228:105 Authority to Enter into Agreements. The commissioner may enter into agreements with federal, state, or local agencies or other entities to assist with the planning, construction, maintenance, and management of park and ride facilities.
210:2 Reference Added to Definition of “Way.” Amend RSA 259:125, II to read as follows:
II. For the purposes of RSA 265:71, IV, RSA 265:79, RSA 265:82, and RSA 265:82-a, any public highway, street, avenue, road, alley, park, parking lot or parkway; any private way laid out under authority of statute; ways provided and maintained by public institutions to which state funds are appropriated for public use; any privately owned and maintained way open for public use; and any private parking lots, including parking lots and other out-of-door areas of commercial establishments which are generally maintained for the benefit of the public.
210:3 Reasons for Removal and Impoundment; Terminology Change. Amend RSA 262:32, VII to read as follows:
VII. A vehicle has been left unattended within a state-owned park and ride [lot] facility for a period of greater than [30] 21 days.
210:4 Vehicles Removed from Private and State Property. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 262:40-a, I to read as follows:
I. The owner or person in lawful possession of any private property or the manager of a state-owned park and ride [lot] facility on which a vehicle is parked without permission or is apparently abandoned may:
210:5 Vehicles Removed from Private and State Property. Amend RSA 262:40-a, III to read as follows:
III. The department of transportation shall give authorized persons permission to move any vehicle within a state-owned park and ride [lot] facility when such vehicle is improperly parked in a bus storage or travel lane which is properly marked. The owner of the vehicle shall be responsible for the costs of moving the vehicle.
210:6 Additional Parking Regulation; Official Signs at Park and Ride Facilities Restricting Parking. Amend RSA 265:71, IV to read as follows:
IV. The commissioner of transportation with respect to ways under [his] the department’s jurisdiction may place signs [prohibiting] to prohibit or [restricting] restrict the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles on any way where in [his] the commissioner’s opinion such stopping, standing or parking is dangerous to those using the way or where the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles would unduly interfere with the free movement of traffic thereon or to control the parking of vehicles at a park and ride facility. Such signs shall be official signs and no person shall stop, stand or park any vehicle in violation of the restrictions stated on such signs.
210:7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 16, 2008
Effective Date: August 15, 2008